My Life Is You
by bklue18
Summary: Is it possible for a mob boss to give up everything for a woman he loves?
1. What A Gentleman

"Alright class! That's it for today!"  
>"Thank you, Miss Jasmine!"<p>

Jasmine smiled at her toddler kendo class as she waved good-bye to them. Although Jasmine is a skilled kendo master, with many medals and very qualified to teach an adult class, she prefers teaching a group of toddlers. They are much easier to handle then a huge group of adults.

"Jasmine!"  
>"Yes, boss!"<p>

Hunter Levesque was Jasmine's boss. He is a rather large guy, being a pro-wrestler, before he went into the kendo business. He's a really nice guy and Jasmine absolutely adores him like another dad.

He looked at Jasmine and laughed, "Don't you have a birthday party to attend?"

"Oh, right! Gotta go, boss! I'll see you tomorrow!" Jasmine said

Hunter nodded as he waved good-bye to Jasmine, who dashed out the door with her Baggu duck bag, hung on her shoulder. As soon as she was out the door of the kendo center, Jasmine took out her iPhone and called her best friend, Eve, who ran a kick-boxing studio.

"Hello?"  
>"Hey Eve!"<br>"*laughs* Yes, Jas… How can I help you?"  
>"It's almost time for Alanna's birthday party! Are you done?"<br>"Oh gosh! I nearly forgot! I haven't got any classes so I'll pack up."  
>"Great! I'll come over then! See ya!"<p>

Jasmine ended the call and hurried over to Eve's kick-boxing studio, 10 blocks down.

"Hey, girl!" Jasmine said, as she put her arm around Eve's shoulder  
>"Give me a few minutes. I need to pack up." Eve said<br>"Yes, ma'am!" Jasmine said, as she sat at the reception.

As soon as Eve finished packing, the two of them locked up and headed over to the amusement park at the boardwalk for Alanna's birthday party.

"Hey bro!" Jasmine said, walking up to a rather huge guy, carrying a little girl.  
>"Hey Randy!" Eve said, walking behind Jasmine.<p>

Randy turned around with the little girl in his arms as soon as he heard the girls' voices.

"Hey, Jas! Hey, Eve! Thanks for coming!" Randy said  
>"Are you kidding? I won't miss anything in the world for my little Alanna's birthday!" Jasmine replied, tickling Alanna.<br>"And, you won't want Aunt Doris to come after you." Randy said  
>"Yeah. That part's true too." Jasmine said<p>

Randy laughed and messed Jasmine's hair with his other free hand. Randy had been Jasmine's god-brother ever since she was born so the two were practically like real siblings. Since her parents moved to Hawaii after Jasmine started working in Florida, Randy took on the task of ensuring that she was taken care of, as a promise to her parents. Even though he had gotten married and had a daughter, he still adhered to his promise.

"Anyway, here's Alanna's present from the both of us." Jasmine said, passing Randy a paper bag.  
>"You guys didn't have to get her anything… As long as you two came, it's enough for her." Randy said<br>"Nah… We won't want her to remember the two aunts that didn't give her anything on her 2nd birthday." Jasmine said

Randy chuckled and shook his head as he put the paper bag next to the other presents Alanna has.

"So, are all the little kids having fun?" Eve asked  
>"Yeah. Samantha's over there trying to handle them." Randy replied<br>"I'll go help." Eve said  
>"And I'll go get Eve the milkshake she wanted." Jasmine said<br>"Yes, thank you!" Eve said, walking over to Randy's wife, Samantha.

Jasmine looked at Randy, "So, did you invite your supposedly annoying worker?"

Randy sighed, "I didn't have a choice, right?"

Just then, Matthew walked over, holding a plate of food.

"Woo, woo, woo. Bro boss, this birthday party is sick!" Matthew said  
>"Good. I'm glad think so." Randy said<p>

Matthew noticed Jasmine standing there and smiled.

"Hey Jas, how are you doing?" Matthew asked  
>"I'm good." Jasmine replied<br>"Where's Eve? Do you two have plans for tonight? Wanna go fist-pump with me at a club?" Matthew asked  
>"Uh, thanks for the offer but… We've already got plans." Jasmine replied<br>"No sweat. We can do it another time." Matthew said, before walking away and fist-pumping to Justin Bieber's 'Baby', which was playing through the megaphones.

Randy and Jasmine both laughed before she remembered about Eve's milkshake.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Gonna go grab Eve's milkshake." Jasmine said

Randy nodded and walked over to Eve and Samantha just as Jasmine left for the milkshake counter, near the ferris wheel area. She ordered two cups and paid for it and as she turned to walk away, she collided into someone; causing her cup to smash into the guy's chest, causing a huge stain to appear on his light blue dress shirt.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Jasmine said, quickly grabbing a tissue pack from her duck bag.

"What the bloody hell?"

The guy who was dressed in what looks like an expensive outfit with the tailored shirt and pants plus the leather shoes which Jasmine can only assumed came from Gucci or Prada, glared at her.

"I'm very, very sorry! I should have seen you coming! Here!" Jasmine said, holding out the tissue pack to the guy.  
>"You think your tissue pack is going to clean up the stain you made on my shirt?" The guy said, with his English accent, heavily coating every word.<p>

Annoyed that this guy was getting to be quite a prick, Jasmine couldn't contain her rising anger, as she stuffed her tissue pack back into her duck bag.

"Look dude. I already apologized to you. It wasn't an intentional act of mine to spill milkshake onto you. I wanted to offer to pay for the dry-cleaning of your shirt but since you are such a gentleman, I'm just going to walk away." Jasmine said

She glared at the British guy before she tossed the remaining contents of her cup onto his shirt. Satisfied with the stain growing much bigger on his shirt, she threw the cup into the bin next to the store. The British guy looked at her with an astonished look but she merely smirked before walking away leaving him a little pissed but very amused and impressed.

As soon as Jasmine walked away, 2 huge guys ran up to the British guy.

"Sir, do you want me to go after that girl?"  
>"No, it's okay, Mason."<br>"Stuart, sir, are you sure?"  
>"Yes, Ezekiel. Let's go."<p>

Mason and Ezekiel, nodded and led the way back to the car. As they walked, Stuart couldn't help but replay the scene in his head. That girl was different from the other girls he ever met. Usually when girls accidentally bump into him, he would have some sort of control over the situation. But this time, he had none of that. In Jasmine's case, she seemed totally unfazed by him. Stuart had a photographic memory so remembering Jasmine wasn't going to be difficult for him. He took one last look at where they were previously and caught sight of Jasmine's green duck bag further down. He smirked and unbutton the top of his shirt before getting into the car.


	2. And, We Meet Again

Jasmine returned to where the party was at, still fuming over the earlier incident.

"Jasmine! What took you so long?" Eve asked, standing with Randy and Samantha.  
>"Yeah… Hey, what happened?" Randy asked, looking at Jasmine's shirt which had a little bit of milkshake stains.<br>"Oh… I bumped into a dude and kinda had a little accident with my milkshake." Jasmine replied  
>"I've got a spare shirt in the car. I'll go get it for you." Samantha said<br>"It's okay, Sam. I'm going home after this. So, I'll just stick with this shirt." Jasmine said

Samantha smiled and nodded before hurrying to her daughter who was crying. Jasmine passed Eve her milkshake as she reached for a serviette on the table to try to clean off the stain.

"Why didn't you get the guy to pay you?" Randy asked  
>"Well, I was the one who bumped into him and he had gotten a much bigger stain on his tailor-made dress shirt. Although I did make it a whole lot worse after I tossed the remainder onto his shirt." Jasmine replied<br>"What did he do?" Eve asked  
>"He's such an asshole! I apologized to him about 3 times and gave him my tissue pack to clean or at least try to get rid of the stain on his shirt but he had to be such an ass wipe about it." Jasmine said<br>"So you got angry and emptied the remaining contents of your cup on his shirt?" Randy said

Jasmine nodded, "Pretty much. Can't help it if I have to waste good milkshake on an ass wipe like him."

Randy and Eve both laughed before each of them handed her some cake to keep her mind off the incident that happened earlier. She smiled and accepted their kind gesture as they continued to enjoy Alanna's birthday party

* * *

><p>"Yes, okay, I got it."<p>

Ezekiel ended the call and looked at Stuart.

"Sir, they found him." Ezekiel said  
>"Good. Let's go." Stuart instructed<p>

The big, black BMW 3 series sedan drove towards an opening of alleyway and came to a stop. Stuart got out of the car when Mason opened the door. Due to the incident earlier at the boardwalk, Stuart changed out of the shirt for a black dress shirt.

"Sir."

Stuart nodded at a group of guys surrounding a man, as they moved aside showing him a guy who had been badly beaten up.

"S-Sir…" the injured man managed to say.  
>"Where's my $5 million worth of marijuana?" Stuart asked<br>"I'm-I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't mean to lose them!" the man replied  
>"Didn't we tell you not to lose them?" Mason yelled, kicking the man in the stomach.<p>

"That's not a way to treat our men, Mason." Stuart said, "Give me the gun."

"N-No! Stuart, sir! P-Please! Give me one more chance! Please, sir!" The man begged.

Stuart didn't utter a word but gave the man a cold smile as he pulled the trigger which dispelled a bullet that went through the guy's head. A second later, his body landed limply on the ground.

Stuart turned around and handed the gun back to Ezekiel and said, "Clean up the place and get rid of that body."

"You heard the boss. Do it properly." Ezekiel said to the group of guys surrounding the body.

The men nodded and got down to the instructions given just as Stuart walked back to the car with Mason and Ezekiel.

The next morning, Jasmine woke up to find Eve's note and breakfast on the table. The note read, 'Hey sweetie. I know you've got an afternoon class and decided to sleep in but I've got to head to the studio first. Here's breakfast! Love, Eve.' Jasmine smiled and put the note away as she looked at the breakfast in front of her. It was scrambled eggs with pancakes. Eve knew her so well. She smiled and tucked in happily before deciding to visit Randy later.

At around noon, Jasmine headed to Randy's café before going to work. She pushed open the door as she walked into the café, towards the counter where Matthew was at.

"Welcome to- Hey cutie! What are you doing here so early?" Matthew asked  
>"I'm here to see Randy and snag some free coffee." Jasmine replied<br>"If you give me a kiss, I could throw in some muffins." Matthew said, with a grin.  
>"As enticing as that offer sounds, I'll just have the coffee." Jasmine said<br>"No problem. I can get the kiss another time. So, your usual?" Matthew asked

Jasmine nodded, "Yup. Make it a large. And a medium cappuccino for my boss."

"No problemo. BTW, broski's in the back." Matthew said  
>"Thanks Matt." Jasmine said<p>

She pushed open the door to the back room to see Randy talking to another person who was dressed in a suit and had his back turned to the door. As soon as Randy spotted Jasmine, he stopped talking.

"Uh, Jasmine! What are you doing here?" Randy asked, looking a little surprised  
>"I came to get free coffee." Jasmine replied<p>

The guy in the suit turned around and Jasmine immediately recognized him.

"I thought I'd recognize that voice."

It was none other than that British guy from yesterday. What was he doing here? He seems pretty chummy with Randy so what's the deal?

"The two of you know each other?" Randy asked  
>"He's Mr ass-wipe." Jasmine replied.<br>"I've got a nickname already? Sweetheart, I didn't know we're already at that stage." The British guy said

Jasmine gave him a disgusted look and said, "Who's your sweetheart? I'd rather have a pig call me its' sweetheart then have you say it."

Realizing Jasmine might go kendo on his friend, Randy stepped in between the both of them.

"Okay, Jas… Chill. Stu, stop it." Randy said to the both of them.  
>"I'll chill when he stops being such a prick!" Jasmine said<br>"And I'll stop when she learns to love and not hate." Stuart said  
>"Oh, I'll show you how I love, alright!" Jasmine said, sarcastically.<p>

She was about to lunge for Stuart when Randy held her back.

"Stu, stop agitating her. She's a skilled kendo master. She can break your arm with a stick." Randy warned

Stuart sighed and said, "Fine. Since Randy asked me to, I'll stop."

"Thank you. Now, Jas, I'm going to let you go so please try not to kill him?" Randy said  
>"Fine… I'll try." Jasmine said<p>

Randy let go of Jasmine and stepped away from in between them as Stuart made his way to her.

"I'm Stuart Bennett but you can call me Stu." He said, putting out his hand for Jasmine.

She looked at Randy, who gave her a look that said she should be nice too.

"Jasmine." She replied, shaking his hand  
>"Beautiful name." Stuart said, still holding her hand<p>

Jasmine gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look and quickly retracted her hand from his grip.

"Yeah, you can save it and use that on other girls cause I'm not falling for it." Jasmine said

She turned to Randy and said, "I gotta go now. I'll babysit tonight so I'll be there around 7pm."

Randy nodded as Jasmine said 'good-bye' to him without acknowledging Stuart's existence before she pushed open the back door to go out.

"Randy, you didn't tell me you have a feisty friend." Stuart said  
>"She's not a friend. She's my god-sister and you better watch yourself if you still want me as your friend." Randy said<br>"Okay. Relax, Randy. I know how much she means to you." Stuart said

Randy looked at Stuart seriously, "Yes. And, if you are interested in her, you will have to tell her the truth about yourself and, stop being such an ass."

"You know I'm not really an ass… It's just an occupational hazard." Stuart said  
>"Yeah… But, if you want Jasmine to have a different opinion of you, you've got to stop that." Randy said<br>"I know… Well, I'd best be off." Stuart said, standing up.

Randy nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow night then for the dinner."

"Yup. And I'll drop off Alanna's birthday present since I didn't manage to give it to her yesterday at her party." Stuart said  
>"No problem. Come by anytime." Randy said<p>

Stuart nodded and pat Randy's back before he put on his sunglasses and left the back room.


	3. Destruction Averted

Jasmine arrived at the kendo centre with her two cups of coffee and she walked in just as Hunter was doing some accounts at the reception.

"Hey, boss!" Jasmine said

Hunter looked up and smiled, "Hey!"

"Here's coffee!" Jasmine said, passing Hunter his drink.

Hunter laughed, "What's the occasion? You're not late… If that's the reason you're bribing me."

"What? Boss! I'm an honest worker! I don't bribe the upper management!" Jasmine said, pretending to be offended.

Just as the two of them were laughing, a tall, pretty woman with long black hair stepped into the kendo center with a few bigger built guys.

"Hi, can I help you?" Jasmine asked  
>"Yes, who's the boss here?" The woman asked<br>"I am." Hunter replied, standing up.

The woman smirked and said, "Good. Have you paid the fees for your protection?"

"Protection fees? Is this some kind of joke? We haven't paid a single cent to anyone since we started here." Hunter said  
>"Well, now I'm telling you to do so if you don't want to suffer any unforeseen circumstances." The woman said<br>"And I'm telling you to leave if you don't want to get hurt." Hunter said  
>"I think you'll be the one who has to worry about that. There's only two of you and 5 of my men." The woman said<br>"Oh, we can take you down!" Jasmine said, grabbing her kendo stick by the table.

Just as the woman instructed her men to move in, a loud, booming voice stopped them from doing so.

"BRIE! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

As if knowing who the person is, the men quickly stepped away from the entrance where they were crowding at, to reveal a very tall, big built person wearing a black suit.

"Just in time, Paul." Hunter said  
>"Yeah!" Jasmine said<p>

Paul is Hunter's best friend and is practically family. After Jasmine and Paul got acquainted, Paul took a liking to her and started treating her like a little sister he's never had.

"P-Paul… What are you doing here?" Brie asked  
>"I should be asking you that. Stuart knows this place is off limits." Paul replied<br>"B-But…" Brie stuttered  
>"Don't 'but' me. Just get out of my face. The same goes for all of you. I'm taking this up with your boss." Paul said, coldly.<p>

The men quickly scampered off before Paul hurts any of them. Brie looked at Paul hesitantly before walking out of the kendo centre.

"You guys okay?" Paul asked  
>"Yeah. Thanks for coming in time. I may be able to take them down but I don't want Jasmine to get hurt." Hunter replied<br>"Aww! You're like my dad! But, boss, I'll be fine. I am trained and skilled." Jasmine said

Paul and Hunter laughed as Jasmine gave them the most innocent look she could muster.

"I'm serious!" Jasmine said  
>"We know." Paul said<br>"Don't you have a class to prepare for?" Hunter said  
>"Oh, right! Nice to see you, Paul!" Jasmine said, before disappearing into the kendo studio.<p>

Paul chuckled and turned to Hunter, "I really, really like this kid."

"Yeah. Fearless and spunky. That's why I hired her." Hunter said  
>"But it's best she doesn't know about our other background." Paul said<br>"I know. I don't want her to get involved. Who was that girl anyway?" Hunter asked  
>"Some chick that Stuart met. Her father owns a chain of shopping malls and since they met, she's been trying to play the role of Stuart's wife." Paul replied<br>"Isn't Stuart doing anything about it?" Hunter quizzed  
>"Well… He is… But, he's in talks with her father regarding the company shares that he wants to buy so… I don't know if this is part of his plan to ensure the sales." Paul said<p>

Hunter shook his head and sipped the coffee that Jasmine got him.

"British. You can never quite understand them, right?" Hunter said

Paul laughed and pat Hunter's back as they chatted for a little while longer.


	4. Babysitting

After Jasmine finished her kendo lessons with her class, she grabbed a box of pizza on her way to Randy's house. Eve was going out on a date that one of her students set up so she couldn't accompany Jasmine for the babysitting gig."

"Alright, so if you girls need anything, call us." Randy said, looking at Jasmine and Alanna, who was in her arms.  
>"Relax guys! You two have fun on your date! It's not like this is the first time you're handing Alanna to me." Jasmine said<br>"Jas is right, honey. I'm the mother and I'm not worrying." Samantha said  
>"Fine, fine. Bye, sweetie." Randy said, planting a kiss on Alanna's cheek.<p>

Jasmine and Alanna walked Randy and Samantha to the door and stayed there, waving good-bye to them as they watched their car pull out of the drive way. After, she closed the door and locked it before putting Alanna down on the sofa. Jasmine sat down next to her with the remote control in hand.

"Well, sweetheart, What should we watch?" Jasmine asked

Alanna looked up at Jasmine and giggled as she said, "Blue's clues!"

"Good choice, sweetheart! Blue's clues it is!" Jasmine said, as she switched the channel to Nickelodeon Jr.

The two of them were having fun watching and playing different characters. At one point, Alanna wanted to be a rabbit so, Jasmine used some face paint to help Alanna draw the nose and whiskers. Since she didn't want to come off as a spoil sport, Jasmine just drew the same thing on herself.

Alanna giggled happily and said, "Rabbits!"

Jasmine smiled, "Yeah! We're rabbits!"

Alanna smiled and turned back to the television, just as the doorbell rang. Jasmine got up and opened the door to find Stuart standing there.

"I didn't know Randy had a human rabbit in the house." Stuart said, looking amused at Jasmine's face.

Ignoring his remark, Jasmine stood at the door with her arms folded.

"What are you doing here? Randy and Sam are out on a date. So, you can come back tomorrow." Jasmine said

As she was about to close the door, Stuart held up an arm to stop the door from closing.

"I don't need them to be around. I'm here to drop off Alanna's present." Stuart said

Jasmine hesitated for a second and eventually opened the door wider, seeing that Stuart had a very big box next to him. She stood by the door as he brought it in before she closed the door.

"Hey little rabbit, uncle Stu's here." Jasmine said

Alanna stood up on the couch and smiled widely before getting down from the sofa and running into Stuart's arms. He carried her up in his arms and smiled.

"Oh… My little Alanna isn't here today… Who is this?" Stuart asked  
>"Uncle Stu! I'm a rabbit!" Alanna replied<p>

Stuart laughed and said, "A rabbit? What happen to my little Alanna? Was she eaten? Oh no!"

Alanna giggled loudly just as Stuart tickled her. Jasmine who was standing by the side, smiled a little and for a second, just a mere second, she didn't find Stuart loathsome. Seeing that Alanna was in good hands, Jasmine walked to the kitchen where she sat down and ate a slice of pizza from the box she brought. She was enjoying her pizza when Stuart came into the kitchen.

"I thought rabbits are supposed to eat carrots?" Stuart said  
>"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Jasmine said, annoyed.<br>"Relax… I'm just joking. Alanna seems happy to be a rabbit like you." Stuart said  
>"Yeah, well, she wanted to be a rabbit so I just went along with it." Jasmine said<p>

Stuart stood next to her and said, "Mind if I have a slice of pizza? You do owe me one for my shirt."

Jasmine didn't reply but merely shrugged and Stuart took it as a 'yes'.

"So, I think the two of us got off on a wrong foot." Stuart said  
>"More like only one of us." Jasmine muttered<br>"Fine. I may have been a bit of a prick." Stuart said

Jasmine raised an eyebrow and said, "A bit?"

Stuart cleared his throat, "I was pretty much a prick. So, I'd like to apologize for that. It wasn't my intention to come off that way. I just had a bad day."

Jasmine looked at Stuart and seeing that he seemed pretty genuine, she decided to forgive him.

"Okay… You're forgiven." Jasmine said

As Stuart helped himself to a beer from Randy's fridge, Alanna came into the kitchen. Stuart put down his beer bottle on the kitchen island and carried Alanna up.

"What can I do for you, my little rabbit?" Stuart asked  
>"Uncle Stu, you must be a rabbit too!" Alanna said<br>"Do I really have to?" Stuart said

Alanna nodded and Jasmine picked up the face paint from the living room before returning to the kitchen.

"You better not fight it." Jasmine said, holding up the paint brush.

Stuart looked at Alanna and smiled, "A rabbit I will be!"

Alanna giggled happily and Jasmine couldn't help but smile a little. When Stuart turned to look at her, she gave him a straight face which he returned with a slight chuckle. After helping Stuart with his new facial art, they walked out to the living room, where they sat down on the sofa with Alanna sandwiched between the two of them. When Randy and Samantha came home about 2 hours later, they were surprised to find Alanna sleeping in Stu's arms with her head on his chest, while Jasmine had her head on Stuart's shoulder. They were all asleep with the television on.

"Honey, they look just like a family." Samantha said  
>"Yeah… And I'm going to take a picture of this moment." Randy agreed<p>

He grabbed a camera from the drawer and snapped their picture before waking Stuart and Jasmine. She woke up and realizing her head was on Stuart's shoulder, she jerked her head up and backed away from him while he smirked. Alanna was still asleep in Stuart's arms so Randy gently carried her up to put her into her bed.

"Thank you, guys, for taking care of Alanna. And Stuart, thanks for your present." Samantha said  
>"No thanks needed... I love spending time with her." Jasmine said<br>"Me too. It's my pleasure to take care of her while you guys have some time alone." Stuart said

Randy came down to join them as Stuart and Jasmine were now standing by the door.

"Well, I've gotta go now." Jasmine said, carrying her duck bag.  
>"Oh, wait. Stu, do you mind sending Jasmine home? It's pretty late. I'd usually send her home but since you're here, you could help me do that." Randy said<br>"Uh, it's okay… I can just call Eve or something… It'll be too troublesome for Stuart." Jasmine said  
>"No, it's not troublesome. I'll take you home." Stuart said<br>"Okay…" Jasmine said, reluctantly.

Stuart and Jasmine both bid good-bye to Randy and Samantha as they headed out the door towards Stuart's new BMW convertible.


	5. The Awkward Car Ride

In the car, there was an obvious uncomfortable silence present. Stuart was the first to speak.

"What's your address?" Stuart asked  
>"Excuse me? I believe that is none of your concern." Jasmine replied, defensively.<br>"I require it to send you home, right?" Stuart said  
>"Oh… Right. Uh, it's just two streets from here. 7th avenue." Jasmine said<p>

He nodded and drove ahead, without any sort of smart remark he'd usually give.

"So… Who's Eve?" Stuart asked  
>"Why should I tell you? You want to hit on her? I'm not going to set my friend up." Jasmine answered, defensively, again.<p>

Stuart chuckled silently to himself, finding Jasmine's defensive nature adorable. They soon arrived at her house and she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Thanks for the lift." Jasmine said, as she hurriedly opened the door to get out.

She walked up the front porch step and unlocked the front door as she stepped in quickly, hoping to be out of Stuart's sight. Seeing her safe inside her house, Stuart smiled to himself and drove off, with an obvious rising interest in Jasmine and a strangely deep attraction to this girl.

Peering from the window, as soon as Jasmine saw Stuart drive off, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you're back. How was the babysitting?"

Jasmine turned around to see Eve standing there, with a glass of orange juice in her hand.

"Why do you look so surprised? Did something happen at Randy's house?" Eve asked

Jasmine sighed, "Remember the asshole that bumped into me yesterday at Alanna's birthday party?"

Eve nodded as Jasmine continued, "He's Randy's friend. And, we babysat Alanna together."

"That doesn't sound so bad. It seems that you got along well with him." Eve said  
>"Yeah. But… The awkward part is when I woke up because of Samantha's camera." Jasmine said<br>"Samantha's camera? What were the two of you doing?" Eve asked  
>"I apparently must have fallen asleep and somehow ended up with my head on his shoulder!" Jasmine replied<p>

Eve laughed and said, "Are you serious?"

"It's not funny, Eve! After that, Randy got him to send me home! And… I got really defensive during the car ride." Jasmine said

Eve looked at Jasmine, "As in defensive each time he talks?"

Jasmine nodded and Eve laughed.

"Eve!" Jasmine said  
>"Sorry, girl. It seems to me that you must have been embarrassed about the situation but instead of getting annoyed with Randy and Samantha, you're getting annoyed at the poor guy." Eve said<p>

Jasmine thought about Eve's words and realized that she is right. It was an awkward situation and the only person she could get pissed at was Stuart.

"I'm right, am I?" Eve asked

Jasmine didn't reply Eve as she hiked up the stairs back to her room.

"I'm right!" Eve yelled after Jasmine.


	6. The Stolen Kiss

The next morning, Jasmine was getting ready to leave the house but just as she was about to head out, she couldn't find her ipod anywhere.

She walked to Eve's room and asked, "Eve… Have you seen my ipod?"

Eve looked up from her macbook, "No… The last time I saw it, you had it with you. Did you drop it at Randy's house?"

"No… I had it in my bag." Jasmine said  
>"Then maybe it's in the poor guy's car?" Eve said<br>"What? No… Can it?" Jasmine said

Just then, the doorbell rang. Eve got up from her seat and walked down the stairs with Jasmine following behind her, still rummaging through her bag. Instead of following Eve all the way to the door, Jasmine sat down on the stairs and emptied the contents of her bag while Eve opened the door.

"Yes?" Eve said  
>"Hi. Sorry to bother you. I'm Stuart Bennett. I have something here that belongs to Jasmine. You must be Eve, right?" The person at the door said<p>

Eve looked at Stuart and smiled before turning around to Jasmine.

"Jas! You have a visitor." Eve said

She turned back to Stuart and said, "She'll be right with you."

Not knowing who was at the door, Jasmine got up and walked to Eve's position, just as she left.

She looked up and Stuart smiled, "Morning."

"Stu? What are you doing here?" Jasmine said  
>"I came to return something that must belong to you? I don't recall my ownership of an ipod with a rainbow colored cover that has a monkey's face on it." Stuart said, showing Jasmine the ipod.<br>"Oh! My ipod! Thank goodness!" Jasmine exclaimed, taking it from Stuart's hand.  
>"I found it on the seat. I suppose it fell out of your bag." Stuart said<p>

Jasmine looked at Stuart, "Thank you so much. I thought I lost it for good."

"Courteous now, aren't we?" Stuart said, with a smirk.

Jasmine gave Stuart an annoyed look as she said, "If you come up with another smart remark, I'm going to take back my gratitude."

"Okay, I'm sorry. It's habitual." Stuart said, "So, can I offer you a ride to work?"

Jasmine hesitated but Eve cut in, "That's an awesome idea! My car's in the workshop so I can't send her to work."

"What are you doing, Eve?" Jasmine said, looking at Eve.  
>"Helping you to not be defensive." Eve said, pushing Jasmine out the door.<p>

Eve passed Jasmine her bag, which she packed back for her and waved as she reluctantly walked down the porch stairs behind Stuart. Jasmine looked at the car, expecting to see the same BMW but this time, it was an Audi convertible.

"Wow. Seriously? You had a BMW car yesterday and today it's an Audi. What are you? A car dealer?" Jasmine asked

Stuart laughed and said, "No. This is my Wednesday car."

Jasmine frowned as she got into the car with a smug Stuart.

"Are you serious?" Jasmine asked  
>"I'm joking. I only have two cars. This and the BMW you saw yesterday." Stuart replied<p>

Jasmine rolled her eyes and said, "Do you always have to be such a smart ass?"

"Do you always have to take things so personally?" Stuart asked  
>"What? I don't take things personally." Jasmine replied<br>"You do." Stuart said, as he started up the car.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at Stuart before turning her head towards the window as the car started moving. Since the car was a little too quiet for both of them, Stuart switched on the radio. To Jasmine's delight, the song was none other than 'Sparks Fly' by Taylor Swift. Not bothering about Stuart in the car, Jasmine started singing the words to the song under her breath. Since Stuart was concentrated on the road, she sneaked glances at him. Unknowingly, she suddenly felt her heart beat fast when Stuart smiled.

"Are you looking at me?" Stuart asked, his eyes still fixed on the road.

Jasmine quickly looked back out the window and replied, "No."

He stopped the car and Jasmine turned to look at him. His eyes were now fixed on her as he leaned in closer to her, which much to her dismay, set her heart on a treadmill.

"W-What are you doing?" Jasmine asked, her back against the car door.

Stuart smirked and leaned into kiss her on the lips. After a few seconds of processing what just happened, she pushed Stuart away and got out of the car quickly. Jasmine walked straight into her workplace and into the studio where she teaches kendo. She sat down cross-legged on the ground and took a few deep breaths. What just happened? Did Stuart kiss her? She was figuring out how to answer her own questions when Hunter came into the room.

"Hey, kiddo? You okay?" Hunter asked  
>"No. Huh? What?" Jasmine said, her train of thoughts obviously derailed.<p>

Hunter chuckled, "I asked if you're okay. I said hi to you but you ignored me."

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I-I was thinking." Jasmine said

Hunter leaned against the door frame, "Really? About what?"

"Boss… Can I ask you a question?" Jasmine said  
>"Sure." Hunter said<br>"But you have to answer me honestly." Jasmine said

Hunter nodded, "Fire away."

"Let's say you met this really irritating guy… I mean girl, a few days ago. It turns out that she's actually best friends with your female friend. You two babysat her kid together in her house and just today, she kisses you suddenly while dropping you off at work. And mind you… The both of you are not very acquainted. So… How should you react?" Jasmine asked

Hunter smiled and said, "First of all, I'm married and I don't have any girl best friends. Secondly, who is the guy that kissed you?"

"He's name is Stu." Jasmine said  
>"Stu as in Stuart Bennett?" Hunter asked<br>"Yeah… You know him, boss?" Jasmine asked

Hunter nodded, "Yup. He's a friend of mine. So, he kissed you just now? When he sent you to work?"

Jasmine nodded, "Suddenly. I pushed him away though… And walked quickly in here."

Hunter laughed, "It's okay, Jas. Stu is a pretty nice guy and he doesn't let just anybody call him Stu. Especially girls."

"That is weird." Jasmine said  
>"Yeah… But Stu's a real nice guy although he has a pretty tough exterior." Hunter said<br>"Not to mention a real jerk sort of attitude." Jasmine said

Hunter chuckled, "At times. But, it's an occupational hazard."

"That's what he always say! What is his job anyway? A bouncer?" Jasmine said  
>"Um… Something like that." Hunter said<p>

He looked at Jasmine, "Don't fret too much about it, kiddo. You'll do fine the next time the two of you are alone."

Jasmine looked at Hunter and he smiled before walking back to the front desk. She sat alone thinking for awhile until she caught her iPhone light up. A new text had arrived from Randy.

'_**Barbeque party at my place at 6!'**_

Jasmine smiled to herself and put the phone back into her bag just as one of her students came into class. She stood up and took a deep breath, deciding that she'll deal with the Stu problem later.


	7. Barbeque At Randy's

After work, she bid good-bye to Hunter and went over to Randy's house. Eve told her that she'll meet her there. She walked up the front porch steps and rang the doorbell.

"Hey!" Samantha said, opening the door.  
>"Hey, Sam!" Jasmine said<br>"Aunt Jasmine!" Alanna said, running towards Jasmine.

Jasmine smiled and carried Alanna up, "Hey, you!"

She walked into the house with Alanna in her arms and Eve waved from the couch. Jasmine put Alanna down next to Eve and sat down next to her. Sam sat down next to Eve.

"So… Why is there a barbeque party?" Eve asked  
>"Well… Because I told him that we were not going to have steaks for dinner." Samantha replied<br>"Let me guess… So, he planned this party to have the steaks?" Jasmine said  
>"Yeah. Cause this way, I can't stop him. Smart man." Samantha said<p>

Jasmine and Eve laughed as Samantha shook her head, drinking the cup of iced tea she had in her hand.

"Okay, I'm going to go see if he needs help." Jasmine said, getting up from the sofa.

She walked over to the back door and opened it to step out onto the back porch. She looked across the backyard and spotted the smoke emitting from the barbeque grill a few steps away from the pool.

"Hey, bro! Do you need help?" Jasmine asked, walking over to Randy.

She stopped in her tracks, as soon as she saw Stuart standing next to Randy.

"Hey! You're here. Well, I've got it covered with Stu here. But, you still can help." Randy said

Stuart smiled at Jasmine as he drank his bottle of beer. She looked at him annoyingly. How could he be so smug after what he did this morning?

"That's okay then. I'll just go back in." Jasmine said  
>"Why? You could stay and help us out." Stuart said<br>"Help Randy out, sure. You, no." Jasmine said

With that said, Jasmine turned around and walked back into the house. Randy looked at Jasmine before looking at Stuart, who was smiling to himself.

"What did you do, Stu?" Randy asked  
>"Who said I did anything to her?" Stuart replied<br>"Because I've never seen her like that before." Randy said

Stuart shrugged, "Maybe she's having that time of the month."

"Seriously Stu. What did you do?" Randy asked

Stuart sighed, realizing he couldn't keep it a secret. Not from his best friend, who's also almost like Jasmine's brother.

"Well… I kissed her this morning when I sent her to work." Stuart said  
>"You what?" Randy exclaimed<br>"I kissed her." Stuart said  
>"Stu! Why did you do that? Do you even like her?" Randy asked<p>

Stuart took another swig of his beer, "I do."

Randy put down the barbeque tongs, "If you like her, you have to tell her or at least try to change her mind about you. Jasmine has never had a boyfriend before so she hasn't been kissed before. You doing that to her caught her completely off guard."

Stuart nodded, "I know… And I will try to change her mind about me. I have to if I want her to like me."

Randy nodded and resumed turning the steaks laying on the grill while Stuart took another sip of his beer, thinking of a way to make Jasmine stop looking at him like he's the biggest jerk in the whole world.


	8. Making A Quick Get Away

Back in the house, Jasmine just closed the door when Samantha and Eve looked at her from the couch, wondering why she came back in.

"Why didn't you tell me he's here?" Jasmine asked  
>"Who? You mean Stu?" Samantha said<p>

Jasmine nodded as she walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Well, I thought you would know. Since they're best friends." Samantha said  
>"I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to snap at you." Jasmine said<br>"It's fine. What happened between you two?" Samantha asked  
>"Yeah… You look like you could rip Stu's head off." Eve said<p>

Jasmine's voice toned down a notch, "Oh, I would if I could."

"Spill, Jas. What happened?" Eve said

Jasmine sighed, "Stu kissed me."

"Shut up!" Eve said  
>"Are you serious?" Samantha said<p>

Jasmine covered her face with her hands and sunk into the sofa, "I really wish I could say he didn't but he freaking did. My first kiss!"

"How was it? He must be a good kisser. He's British." Eve said

Jasmine took her hands away from her face and reached behind her to grab the pillow as she threw it at Eve, who caught it.

"Stu kissed you? It's a good thing, Jas! Means he likes you!" Samantha said  
>"Well, tough luck for him. Cause I don't like him." Jasmine said<br>"That's what you say. You must have done something to make him kiss you." Eve said

Jasmine thought back to the event that unfolded this morning. Before Stuart kissed her, she remembered looking at him and blushing a little. Could he have saw her doing that? There were such things as using your peripheral vision. It was possible that Stuart could have caught her looking. Jasmine shook her head to clear the memory of the event.

"Well?" Eve asked  
>"Maybe? I think he might have caught me blushing." Jasmine replied<br>"Ha! I knew it! You were defensive all along because you like him!" Eve said

Jasmine gave Eve an 'I'm not amused' look while Eve grinned.

"If you like him, you should give him a chance." Samantha said  
>"That's what boss said too. Ugh. I don't know…" Jasmine said<p>

Just then, the doorbell rang. Samantha got up to open the door and standing there were Hunter, Paul, Matthew, a guy with blonde hair and another guy with long brown hair that was tied up.

"Hey Sam." Hunter said, giving her a hug.  
>"Boss!" Jasmine said, surprised by his appearance.<br>"Kiddo! What are you doing here?" Hunter asked, stepping into the house.  
>"Randy's my god-brother." Jasmine replied<br>"Oh! So you're his god-sister!" Paul said

Jasmine smiled and nodded as the other guys filed into the house.

"Hey cutie! And pretty lady." Matthew greeted, referring to Jasmine and Eve, respectively.

Jasmine and Eve both smiled and said, "Hey Matt."

Matthew grinned before picking Alanna up to talk to her. The two guys that Jasmine and Eve didn't know walked up to the both of them.

"Hi. I'm Andrew Galloway."  
>"I'm Nicholas Nemeth."<p>

Jasmine and Eve smiled politely and shook their hands. Picking up on Andrew's thick Scottish accent, Jasmine figured that he's probably from Scotland.

"I'm Eve and this is Jasmine." Eve introduced  
>"You're Randy's god-sister." Nicholas said<p>

Jasmine nodded and looked at Andrew, "Are you Scottish?"

"Yup. Born and raised in Scotland. Moved to the USA a couple of years back." Andrew replied  
>"That's cool! So… You're Randy's friend?" Jasmine asked<br>"Yeah. I was introduced to Randy through Stu." Andrew replied

Jasmine nodded and muttered under her breath, "Figures."

Just then, Randy came back into the house.

"Great! Everyone's here! The steaks are ready!" Randy announced

Upon Randy's announcement, everyone slowly filed out of the house and into Randy's backyard. Everyone got their share of steak and sat around the pool to eat.

"Well grilled steaks, Randy!" Nicholas said  
>"Thank you! Only time I get to eat steaks so… Gotta do them right." Randy said<p>

He shot Samantha a sheepish smile and she chuckled. Jasmine sat next to Alanna by the poolside, where the chairs were located. They both sat with their legs crossed on top of the poolside loungers.

"Aunt Jasmine, could you help me cut?" Alanna asked  
>"Sure thing, sweetheart." Jasmine replied<p>

She took Alanna's plate and proceeded to help her cut up the small steak she had. Stuart spotted the two of them sitting there alone while everyone else was mingling. He walked over and sat down next to Alanna. She smiled happily and sat on Stuart's lap.

Jasmine looked up with a smile, thinking it was Samantha but it turned into a frown when she saw Stuart sitting there.

"Why the frown?" Stuart asked  
>"I'm not talking to you." Jasmine replied<br>"Well, you just replied me." Stuart said

Jasmine rolled her eyes at Stuart before passing the plate to Alanna, "Here you go."

Alanna smiled happily and took the plate from Jasmine's hands. Not wanting to eat her steak anymore, she got up and walked over to where most of the guys were.

"Hey… Jas… Are you going to finish that?" Paul asked, looking at her leftover steak.  
>"Nope. Why?" Jasmine asked<p>

Paul smiled sheepishly, "Could I have it?"

Jasmine laughed and passed Paul the plate, "Sure."

Paul smiled gratefully and took the plate from Jasmine's hand as he proceeded to devour the steak.

"Guys, we ran out of beer." Andrew said, looking up from the cooler.

Thinking it was an opportunity to leave the house for a while to clear her head, Jasmine volunteered.

"I'll go get some more. The mart is just a few blocks away from here." Jasmine said  
>"It's okay, Jas. I can go get it." Randy said<br>"Nah. You're mingling with your friends. So, mingle! I'll go get them." Jasmine said

Randy chuckled and nodded, "Alright then. Here's the money. Call me if you need help, okay?"

"Got it, bro. See you guys later!" Jasmine said, taking the money from Randy before walking away.

Once Jasmine was out of the house, she let out a sigh of relief. Being in the same place as Stuart, made her nerves stand on end. Now that she's outside, she can at least sort out her thoughts and think about what she should do next. She gave herself a reassuring nod before walking to the super mart.


	9. Opinions Change With The Weather

5 minutes passed and a slight drizzle had started. Randy and the others moved the party into the house, not wanting to risk getting wet.

"Why isn't she back yet?"Samantha asked  
>"Maybe she can't carry the beer back by herself?" Andrew said<br>"I won't think that of kiddo. She's strong." Hunter said  
>"I'll call her cell." Randy said<p>

Randy took out the home phone and dialed in Jasmine's number. To his surprise, her ringtone played in the house.

"She didn't bring her phone." Eve said

Stuart grabbed an umbrella from the stand and said, "I'll go get her."

"That's a good idea." Paul said  
>"Do you know the way?" Randy asked<p>

Stuart nodded, "Yeah. There's only one route down right?"

Randy nodded and Stuart bid them good-bye as he left the house. Meanwhile, Jasmine was carrying a 12-pack beer as she walked in the drizzle. Thinking that it was going to be light, she figured it be okay to walk; since she had her hoodie on too. But, as she was halfway back to Randy's house, the drizzle got much heavier.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jasmine said, as the rain became heavier.

Not having any other choice, she sighed to herself as her hoodie became a second skin to her while she continued walking, with her head down to prevent the rain from hitting her face. The rhythmic feeling of the rain pounding down on her became familiar until something stopped it. She looked up and saw Stuart standing next to her with an umbrella sheltering the both of them.

"Are you out of your mind? Why did you walk in the rain?" Stuart said  
>"It was drizzling when I got out of the mart so I figured I could walk back without getting wet." Jasmine said<br>"That didn't go very well did it?" Stuart asked

Jasmine shook her head, "No…"

Stuart didn't say another word as he took the 12 pack which were in a plastic bag, out of her grip. He held it in his free hand on the left, while the other held the umbrella.

"Hold onto my arm." Stuart said  
>"Why?" Jasmine asked<br>"I don't want you to get soaked any further and I most definitely don't want you to slip and fall." Stuart replied  
>"But if I do that, won't you get wet?." Jasmine said<br>"At least it's not you." Stuart said

Jasmine thought about it for a while before Stuart interrupted her, "Do I have to make you hold my arm?"

"No… I can do it myself." Jasmine said

She cautiously and slowly put her hands around Stuart's strong right arm as they started walking. She constantly reminded herself not to hold onto his arm tightly. But as they walked, she nearly slipped and her hold around Stuart's arm tightened. Stuart looked down at her and couldn't help but smile. He had never had a girl that he liked before. All those girls he had been with threw themselves at him because of the power and money he has. Jasmine is different. She doesn't know about his job and doesn't pretend to be nice to him. She gives it to him when he acts like a jerk, unlike all the other girls who just wanted to please him. Needless to say, this was the first time he ever felt protective of a girl.

Although they walked slowly, they eventually reached Randy's house in 10 minutes. Once they got onto the front porch, the door swung open to reveal Randy.

"Thank goodness you two are back!" Randy said

He looked at Jasmine who was pretty soaked from her attempt at walking through the rain and turned back to yell for Samantha.

"Sam, honey! I need a towel! Jasmine tried walking through the rain… Again." Randy said

Jasmine gave Randy a sheepish smile as he stepped aside for the two of them to head in. Samantha hurried down the stairs with two towels. One for Jasmine and the other for Stuart. She threw Stuart his before wrapping the towel around Jasmine. Together, Eve and Samantha brought Jasmine upstairs to get her out of the soaked clothes and warm her up, since she was starting to sneeze.

"Thank goodness Stu found you! Or you would be more wet than you already are!" Samantha said  
>"Agreed! And, Jas… Walking in the rain again? Remember you fell sick after you walked in the rain when you were on your way home from work? Hasn't that taught you a lesson?" Eve asked<p>

Jasmine didn't say anything as the two ladies mothered her. Samantha brought her soaked hoodie down to the dryer while Eve used the hair dryer to dry her hair and the tank top Jasmine was wearing, since it would dry fast. As she was drying, a knock was heard, coming from the guest bedroom door. Eve switched off the hair dryer and went to open the door.

"Stu? Can I help you?" Eve asked  
>"Um… Yeah… I have a spare t-shirt in my car. I'd normally use it after my shower in the gym but I didn't go to the gym today… So, could you pass this to Jasmine?" Stuart said, holding the folded shirt in his hand.<p>

Eve smiled and took the shirt, "No problem."

Stuart smiled, "Thanks."

Eve nodded as Stuart turned around and walked down the stairs back to the living room. She closed the door and walked to where Jasmine was seated and passed her the shirt.

"What's this?" Jasmine asked, taking the shirt from Eve.  
>"A little something your hero brought by for you." Eve replied<br>"You mean Stu?" Jasmine said

Eve nodded, "A spare t-shirt he had. Go on, change into it. It would be better for Sam to dry this tank top with the dryer."

Jasmine didn't want to change into his shirt. It was weird since they were not dating or anything. But, truth be told, when Stuart said that he'd rather he get wet in the rain then her getting wet in the rain, her heart skipped a few beats. Since she has never had a boyfriend before, she didn't know what it was like to hold a guy's arm but when she held onto Stuart's arm… It just felt so right.

Eve pulled Jasmine off the bed and pushed her into the bathroom as she handed her a spare pair of jeans that she found in her car. Jasmine changed into the new pair of jeans first before looking at the t-shirt, sitting on the counter top. She thought about it for a while just as she sneezed.

"Oh, what the heck, Jas. You've already sort of fallen for him, right? Just change into it." Jasmine said to herself.

With the success of her mini pep talk, she took off her soaked tank top and changed into Stuart's t-shirt, which was 2-3 sizes too big for her, since he's a guy.

"Are you done?" Eve asked, through the door  
>"Yup!" Jasmine replied, from inside the bathroom.<p>

She opened the door and passed Eve her wet clothes. Seeing Jasmine with Stuart's shirt on made Eve smile.

"Aww! You look so cute!" Eve said, "With Stu's shirt on… You look like his girlfriend!"

Instead of giving a smart remark to Eve, Jasmine blushed, making Eve giggle happily.

"You're blushing! You're blushing! I knew it! You like him!" Eve said, "Just admit it!"

Jasmine sighed, "Fine. I do. But just a bit."

Eve smiled, "Even just a little is better than nothing."

Jasmine shook her head as she walked out of the toilet and followed after Eve as they both went back downstairs.


	10. Admitting And Accepting

"Whoa! Are you wearing Stu's shirt?" Andrew asked, seeing Jasmine descend the stairs behind Eve.

Stuart looked up from his plate and couldn't help but smile to himself upon seeing Jasmine in his shirt.

"Seems like something must have happened on the walk back here." Randy said

Jasmine rolled her eyes at Randy and took the wet clothes from Eve, "I'll bring it to Sam."

Before Eve could say anything, Jasmine picked the clothes out of Eve's hands and walked down to the basement where the washing machine and Samantha was. Upon hearing the stairs creak, Samantha turned around and smiled.

"Wow… Stu's shirt looks good on you." Samantha said  
>"Not you too…" Jasmine said<br>"What happened?" Samantha asked  
>"Randy just openly teased me upstairs." Jasmine replied<p>

Samantha laughed and took the wet clothes from Jasmine as she put it into the washing machine.

"You do know Randy is just happy something happened between you two." Samantha said  
>"Nothing happened between the two of us! He just lent me his shirt. That's all." Jasmine said<br>"I'll bet. Look… Stu is a nice guy despite his unfavorable personality at times. And, I can tell he likes you. Very much." Samantha said

Jasmine sat on top of the dryer, that wasn't in use and sighed, "Well… I am starting to like him too."

Samantha stopped what she was doing and turned to Jasmine with a huge smile on her face.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Samantha said, "You two would make a great couple."

Jasmine was about to say something else but ended up sneezing again.

"Are you okay? I think you caught a cold due to the rain." Samantha said  
>"Nah… I'm fine." Jasmine said<br>"No, you're not. Wait here. I'll go get you a cup of hot tea." Samantha said

Before Jasmine could refuse, Samantha headed up the stairs towards the kitchen to make Jasmine a cup of hot tea. Not long after, Jasmine heard footsteps coming down the stairs and she looked up, surprised to see Stuart.

"Stu?" Jasmine said  
>"Yup, it's me." Stuart said<p>

He walked over to her and noticed that her nose had gotten a little red, due to the sneezing.

"Are you okay? You seem to be having a cold." Stuart said  
>"Yeah. I'm fine. Just maybe getting chills from the rain earlier." Jasmine said<br>"Come on. I'll take you home." Stuart said  
>"That's okay… I can still manage." Jasmine said<p>

Stuart shook his head, "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. Come on."

Since she had already admitted to herself that she likes him, she couldn't help but agree to his thoughtful gesture. She nodded and he smiled as he helped her off the dryer. The two of them walked up the stairs, back to the living room where everyone was.

"Randy, I'm going to take Jasmine home. She's getting a cold and I think she should go home and rest." Stuart said

Randy looked at Jasmine, "You do look a little under the weather. You should head home."

"Fine, fine. I'm getting chased out by the host. I'll go." Jasmine said, "Eve, are you coming?"

"Yup! I'll be in the car behind you two." Eve said

Jasmine looked into the kitchen, "Sam! You don't have to make the tea already. I'm heading home first."

Samantha stopped what she was doing and walked out to join Randy's side.

"That would be a better plan. Rest well then." Samantha said

Jasmine nodded and hugged Samantha before bidding good-bye to everyone else.

"See ya, kiddo!" Hunter said

Jasmine nodded and waved at him before walking out behind Stuart with Eve. When they were outside, Eve headed to her car while Jasmine followed after Stuart, getting into his car when he opened the door for her. Within minutes, they were on their way to Jasmine's house. Feeling tired, Jasmine couldn't help but give in to her eyelids as they closed.


	11. The True Colors Of A Man

The next morning, Jasmine woke up with a runny nose and her head feeling heavy. She felt as if she had been run over by a truck twice. She sat up and suddenly wondered how she got into her room since the last thing she remembered was being in Stuart's car. She managed to get out of bed and walked down the stairs slowly to see Eve hurrying about.

Eve noticed Jasmine looking rather sick and stopped what she was doing to rush to her.

"Jasmine? Are you okay?" Eve asked, concerned.  
>"Yeah… I'm just tired…" Jasmine replied<p>

Eve put her hand to Jasmine's forehead to feel her temperature. As soon as her hand came into contact with Jasmine's forehead, she could tell that Jasmine was having a fever.

"You're feeling that way because you have a fever." Eve said  
>"I am? Nah… That can't be…" Jasmine said, groggily<p>

Eve helped Jasmine to the sofa and sat her down before picking up the home phone.

"What are you doing?" Jasmine asked  
>"I'm cancelling my trip." Eve replied<br>"What? No, Eve… Don't. You've been wanting to go for that workshop. Don't cancel it because of me." Jasmine said  
>"But you're sick! And I need to take you to see the doctor. You must be running a high fever." Eve said<br>"I'm fine. Just let me take some aspirin and I'll be okay." Jasmine said  
>"No, you're not fine. If you don't let me stay… I'll call Stu." Eve said<p>

Not hearing a response, Eve looked at Jasmine and found her asleep on the couch. She shook her head and dialed Stuart's number. Within 10 minutes, Stuart arrived at their house with a doctor.

"I'm not going to ask where you got the doctor but it's romantic in a way." Eve said

Stuart gave Eve a small smile as the doctor went to check on Jasmine. After knowing that Jasmine caught a bad cold, Stuart got one of his men to get the medicine from a pharmacy while he stays to look after Jasmine.

"Okay, I have to go now. If there are any problems at all, call me." Eve said  
>"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her." Stuart said<br>"You better. I'm entrusting her in your care." Eve said

Stuart nodded and saw Eve out before closing the door behind her. He walked back over to the couch where Jasmine was and smiled when he noticed that she was hugging a teddy bear. Seeing her sleep so soundly, Stuart couldn't help but lean in and kiss her forehead. He sat down next to her sleeping figure and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

Stuart knew, right there and then, that he had undoubtedly fallen for Jasmine. His feelings for Jasmine had evolved into love and he was hoping she'd feel the same way. Just then, Mason entered the house with Jasmine's medicine in hand.

"Stu, I've got her medicine." Mason said  
>"Thank you. Just leave it on the table." Stuart said<p>

Mason nodded and put the medicine on the coffee table, "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No. Just make sure everything runs smoothly. I'll stay here to take care of Jasmine. If there are any problems, call me." Stuart said  
>"Yes, Stu." Mason said<p>

Before Mason left the house, he turned around, "Stu… Have you fallen for her?"

Stuart kept silent for a while and Mason gave him a knowing smile before closing the door behind him. Deciding to let her wake up at her own time, Stuart went into the kitchen to prepare some chicken soup for her to take so that she can eat the medicine later. Rolling up his sleeves, he got to work.

While Stuart was in the kitchen, Jasmine was drifting in and out of sleep. At one point, Stuart stirred the soup a little too hard and splotches of chicken soup landed on his shirt. He cursed a little too loudly and Jasmine slowly opened her eyes to see Stuart without a shirt on, since he had taken it off to remove the stains. Although she was feeling groggy, she could clearly see a scar that ran from Stuart's shoulder blade down to his armpit. Shyly, Jasmine looked away and remembered that she still had his shirt in her room. She got up slowly and went to get his shirt to return to him.

"Here. Wear this."

Stuart turned around from the sink, where he was washing his shirt to see Jasmine standing there with his shirt he lent her yesterday.

"What are you doing up? Are you feeling better? Are you hungry?" Stuart asked

Jasmine laughed slightly, "You sound like my mom. I woke up a while ago when someone decided to curse out loud and yes, I'm feeling a little better and I am hungry."

He took the shirt from her hands and put it on as she sat down by the kitchen island.

"Well… I cooked chicken soup for you." Stuart said  
>"That sounds yummy." Jasmine said<p>

Stuart smiled a little and scooped the soup for her into a bowl. He put it in front of her and she picked up the spoon to take a taste.

"How is it?" Stuart asked

Although it was a little too salty for her taste, Jasmine appreciated his efforts and said, "It's nice."

Stuart rubbed the back of his neck, all of a sudden feeling a little shy. Jasmine chuckled, seeing Stuart act this way in front of her.

"Stu… How did you get that scar?" Jasmine asked

Stuart's arm slackened and he sighed a little before saying, "I got that scar about 3 years ago… I was involved in a fight."

"A fight?" Jasmine said  
>"Yeah… It's to do with my profession." Stuart said<p>

Jasmine nodded and although she was curious, she didn't want to seem like those sort of girls who pried into the lives of a potential single man.

"Don't you want to know what my profession is?" Stuart asked  
>"I'll live that up to you. If you want to tell me, then tell me. If you don't, I respect that." Jasmine replied<br>"I'll tell you after you finish the soup and take your medicine." Stuart said

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at Stuart for keeping her in suspense before finishing up her soup. He poured her a glass of water and placed it in front of her along with her medicine.

"I didn't know I went to see the doctor." Jasmine said

Stuart chuckled, "That's because you were asleep and I brought the doctor to you."

"You did?" Jasmine said in amazement

Stuart smiled, "Perks of being in my profession."

Jasmine shrugged and popped the pills into her mouth before swallowing it with the help of water.


	12. Here Is My Confession

After Jasmine finished the soup, Stuart escorted her out to the sofa where she sat down. He went to the DVD player and put in the disc sitting on top of the player for her before going back to the sofa and sitting down next to her. He was about to hit the play button on the remote when Jasmine stopped him.

"Weren't you were suppose to tell me something?" Jasmine said

Stuart looked at her for a while before breaking into a smile.

"Oh, right." Stuart said, "So… Do you wanna take a guess before I tell you?"

Jasmine looked at him and shook her head, "If I do that, we might take forever."

Stuart nodded and as he was about to tell her, she suddenly stopped him.

"Wait! What time is it?" Jasmine asked

Stuart looked at his watch, "3pm. Why?"

"Oh no! I forgot to tell boss I wasn't going to be able to come in today! He is going to be so mad at me…" Jasmine said

Stuart laughed and Jasmine looked at him with a frightened and annoyed expression on her face.

"What's so funny?" Jasmine asked  
>"Nothing… Just that you're really cute when you get all flustered." Stuart replied<p>

Jasmine blushed a little, "Not helping!"

"Would this help if I told you Hunter already knows you are not coming in to teach?" Stuart said  
>"Yeah… Wait… You called him?" Jasmine asked<br>"I did." Stuart replied

Jasmine smiled gratefully and hugged him, "Thank you so much!"

Realizing she was hugging him, Jasmine was about to let go when she felt Stuart's arms around her, holding onto her. Instead of letting go, Stuart leaned into kiss her. Surprisingly, this time, Jasmine didn't fight back. Stuart broke the kiss after a few slow seconds and smiled.

"I thought you were going to push me away again." Stuart said  
>"I wanted to… But, you caught me off guard." Jasmine said<p>

Stu chuckled, "Really? I thought that was what happened the other time too."

"I... Look. I'm just going to come right out and say this. I've fallen for you, okay? So, if you're going to be smart ass about it, please laugh in my face now so that I can get hurt and angry at you before figuring out a way to hit you." Jasmine said, before focusing her attention on a loose thread on her sweater.

Stuart cupped her face so that she was looking at him before he said, "I've fallen for you too."

Jasmine looked into his soft, brown eyes and felt herself falling even more in love with this British guy.

"But I'm not sure if you'd still feel the same way after you know the real me." Stuart said, as his hands fell slowly from her face.

Jasmine frowned a little, "What do you mean?"

Stuart sighed, "You know how in action movies... There's always a good guy and a bad guy?"

Jasmine nodded and waited for Stuart to go on as he sighed.

"Well, I'm not the good guy. I'm the bad guy." Stuart said  
>"What are you talking about? Are you a drug dealer?" Jasmine said, laughing slightly, thinking of her words as a joke.<p>

Stuart looked at her and immediately her face fell, hoping that her gut feeling was wrong.

"You're sort of right... That's one of my side businesses." Stuart said  
>"So… You're like the god-father?" Jasmine asked<p>

Stuart laughed slightly, "Yeah… But, I'm the British version. I took over from my father."

Jasmine nodded slowly as she processed what Stuart just told her. She should be feeling frightened and want nothing to do with him but, she wasn't. Growing up, she had been taught by her parents not to judge a book by its cover since they believed that it wasn't what mattered on the outside but what mattered within. Jasmine never forgot that and had been living her life with that in mind.

Stuart looked at her and prepared himself for the worst.

"Your feelings for me have changed." Stuart said

Jasmine looked at Stuart and chuckled slightly, "You have very little confidence in yourself, huh?"

"It's not that… It's just... Sometimes, I kill people when they don't do things right..." Stuart said, "I'm a cold-blooded murderer."

Jasmine looked at Stuart, "But, that doesn't mean that's who you really are, right?"

Stuart looked at her, unsure of what she meant and Jasmine merely smiled, "Granted... You may do horrible things like murdering people in cold blood but that doesn't mean that's who you are inside."

"So… What does that mean?" Stuart asked  
>"I fell in love with Stuart Bennett, the British prick I first met and I intend to keep it that way." Jasmine replied<p>

Stuart smiled and laughed slightly, "So, Randy was right."

"Right about what? What did he say about me?" Jasmine said  
>"Well… He gave me some advice on how to win you over." Stuart said<br>"And I'm glad he did." Jasmine said

Stuart smiled and said, "So… We're a couple now?"

"Yeah… Unless that's not what you want..." Jasmine said

Stuart shook his head and held her hand, close to his chest, "Not happening."

Jasmine smiled and snuggled up to Stuart as he hit the play button on the remote to play the disc.


	13. Don't Provoke A Sleeping Dragon

The next few months went pass fairly quickly. Jasmine and Stu were still together, constantly spending time with each other. They were celebrating Samantha's birthday at Randy's house when Jasmine realized that one of Stu's friends, Nicholas, wasn't there.

She nudged Andrew, "Where's Nicholas?"

Andrew's face became serious and he whispered, "He and Stu fell out. I'm not sure when it happened… But, the two of them went into a heated argument last week and haven't been talking since."

Jasmine nodded as she took a sip from the iced tea in her hand. She looked at Stu who was laughing with Randy by the grill and smiled to herself. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Jasmine said

She walked over to the front door and opened it to see a familiar face that she's seen before.

"Hi… Can I help you?" Jasmine said

The girl looked at her and said, "Where's Stu?"

"Um… I'm sorry… But, who are you?" Jasmine said  
>"It's none of your business, dork face. Move." The girl said<br>"Excuse me? Who are you calling dork face?" Jasmine exclaimed

Upon hearing Jasmine raise her voice, Paul came over to the front door, just as Brie pushed Jasmine aside to enter.

"What's going on here?" Paul asked

He looked at the girl and scoffed, "Brie… What are you doing here? And, how did you find this place?"

"Oh… Brie. That girl who came to the kendo studio." Jasmine said to herself.

Brie smiled sarcastically at Jasmine before looking at Paul, "I have my ways. Where's Stu?"

"He's not here. Leave." Paul said  
>"Paul… Who are you trying to kid? I see his car in the driveway." Brie said<br>"So? He doesn't want to see you so leave." Paul said  
>"What are you talking about? We're a couple!" Brie exclaimed<p>

Jasmine looked at Brie and frowned, "You guys are a couple?"

"Well, well… If it isn't Miss I'm-everything-to-Stu. Brie, just leave. Stu and you were never a couple to begin with. Stop embarrassing yourself." Andrew said, coming out from the kitchen.  
>"Exactly. Just because Stu's father and your father are best friends doesn't mean you and Stu will be the loving couple." Hunter said<br>"That's right. Besides, Stu already has a girlfriend." Eve said

Brie laughed, "Who?"

"You're looking at her." Jasmine said

Brie scoffed, "You? Puh-lease! You're not even half of what I am."

"She's everything you're not."

Everyone turned to see Stu and Randy coming in from the backyard.

"What are you doing here, Brie?" Stu asked  
>"If I recall correctly, you weren't invited." Randy said<p>

Brie ignored Randy and went up to Stu, "Are you really dating her?"

"Yes." Stu said  
>"Why? She's a dork face. She's not pretty and she sure isn't sexy at all." Brie said<br>"I am going to punch your face in!" Eve exclaimed

Jasmine held Eve back by her arm and shook her head when Eve looked at her.

"Look, miss. You may look hot and all but at least Jasmine's the cutest girl I've ever met and the nicest girl ever. A far cry from what you are." Matthew said

Jasmine looked at Matthew and shot him a grateful smile which he returned.

Brie laughed meanly, "If she needs people to stand up for her, she isn't that great after all. You should just end your relationship with her now."

At this point, Stu was getting annoyed and pissed with Brie. So much so that he had to clench his fist tightly, to refrain from hitting a girl. He was about to say something in Jasmine's defense when she spoke.

"Brie, is it? I take it that you must feel really insecure at times and you most definitely don't seem to have any friends at all. That's why you always have to make yourself seem better than everyone. FYI, I may not be half of what you are but I don't have to worry about losing my figure or my looks when I turn 30. So, let's just say that I'm way better than you in so many ways imaginable that you're not even a competition to me. If you don't mind, it's my god-sister's birthday party and you're not wanted here. So, beat it."

As soon as she finished saying that, Jasmine rolled her eyes at Brie and brought Samantha out with her to the backyard. Brie blinked a couple of times, processing what just happened. Feeling humiliated, Brie ran out the front door just as Paul waved good-bye to her while sniggering.


	14. The Things I'd Do With You

Once they were outside in the backyard, Jasmine let Samantha's arm go and heaved a sigh of relief.

"That was incredible, Jas!" Samantha said  
>"Really? Look at my hands, Sam, they're shaking! I've never stood up to a person like that before!" Jasmine said, showing Samantha her hands.<p>

Samantha laughed just as everyone came out to the backyard.

"Remind me never to step on your toes." Andrew said  
>"I'm going to add feisty to the list of qualities you have." Matthew said<p>

Jasmine smiled shyly as she took another cup of iced tea and walked over to the side of the pool where she took off her shoes, to dip her legs in as she sat on the ledge of the pool.

"I should be told that my girlfriend can be a fiery dragon when provoked."

Jasmine chuckled just as Stuart sat down next to her. He did the same thing Jasmine did, with his jeans rolled up. Stuart reached over to hold her hand and just as he did that, she looked at his palm and realized that they were a little red.

"What happened?" Jasmine asked  
>"I clenched my fist a little too tightly." Stuart replied<br>"Why did you do that for?" Jasmine asked, suddenly over-concerned.  
>"Because Brie was getting on my nerves and I don't hit women." Stuart replied<p>

Jasmine chuckled and kissed the palm of Stuart's hand, "Don't do that to yourself again."

"Hard to say. If that's what I get, I might just injure myself more often." Stuart said

Jasmine laughed slightly and shook her head just as Stuart dipped his hand into the pool and flicked his fingers that were dripping with water.

"Hey!" Jasmine exclaimed

Stuart laughed and did it again, much to Jasmine's dislike. She tried doing the same thing he did, but her arms weren't as long as his.

"That's not fair! My arms aren't as long as yours!" Jasmine exclaimed  
>"Okay, I'll help you then." Stuart said<p>

Holding onto Jasmine's waist from the back, she leaned forward and stretched a little bit more than usual and eventually touched the surface of the water. She smiled to herself and turned around to flick the water droplets at Stuart. Just then, Eve came up to them.

"Hey, hey. Stu… Do you mind taking Jasmine home? I've got some stupid bachelorette party that I have to attend." Eve said  
>"No problem." Stuart said<br>"Good. She's in your care then." Eve said

Stuart nodded and stood up, offering his hand to Jasmine, so that she could stand up too. Seeing that it was getting late, Stuart and Jasmine decided to leave first. They bid everyone good-bye and got into Stuart's car. Instead of taking her home, Stuart brought her to his house.

"Where are we?" Jasmine asked, "This isn't my house."

Stuart chuckled, "I know. This is my house. You said you've always wanted to see how it looks like… So, here we are."

Jasmine looked out at the house with two levels which was enclosed by gates, surrounding the estate, and couldn't help but gasp out loud. She had never seen such a house before and to make things even more awesome, he had security outside his house.

"This doesn't seem like you are a mob boss. Its more like you're a celebrity!" Jasmine said

Stuart laughed as the gates opened and he drove in. The stopped right in front of the house where they got out and Stuart handed the keys to Ezekiel who took over the wheel.

Jasmine smiled, "Hi Zeke!"

Ezekiel smiled, "Hello Ms Jasmine."

Once he said that, he got into the car and drove towards the garage.

Stuart looked at her, "Since when were you friends with my men?"

"Since I became your girlfriend and thought that they were friendly people. Which, they are!" Jasmine said

Stuart laughed and held Jasmine's hand as they went into the house. Just as they entered, Jasmine was expecting to see maids and butlers but there were none.

"So… Where are the maids or butlers?" Jasmine asked  
>"I don't have one." Stuart replied<br>"Really? I don't believe you. I mean… Look at your house! I'm sure you don't do the housework!" Jasmine said

Stuart chuckled, "Well, no… I don't. But, I've got a cleaning lady who comes by every Sunday."

Jasmine shrugged, "Guess that will do since you live alone."

Stuart laughed and led her to the backyard of the house, where the view of the city could be seen. Since his house was situated on a hill, there was an amazing view of the city down below.

"Okay, seriously… Stop flaunting your wealth at me." Jasmine said, taking in the sight of the view.

Stuart shrugged, "I'm not doing that."

"Oh, really? Look at this view! And your pool has a view of that! Plus! Let's not forget you have a Jacuzzi too!" Jasmine said, "I mean, look at Randy's house! There's only the view of the neighbor's fence!"

Stuart laughed and annoyed, Jasmine lightly pushed him. Losing his balance, since he wasn't standing properly, Stuart ended up in the pool with a loud splash. Jasmine covered her mouth in shock and couldn't help but start to laugh.

"Oh my gosh! Stu! Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to push you in." Jasmine said, laughing.

Stuart stood straight up in the pool and smoothed his wet hair before opening his eyes to look at Jasmine. She was now squatting by the pool so that she was at eye level with Stuart. He waded over to her and stood in front of her.

"Are you okay? I'll go get a towel for you." Jasmine said

As she was about to stand up, Stuart held onto her arm and had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Stu… No… I know you want revenge but it was an accident." Jasmine said, knowing what Stuart had in mind.  
>"Why are you so afraid? I didn't say this was revenge and you don't know what I want to do." Stuart said<p>

Jasmine narrowed her eyes, "Yeah… I prefer to be paranoid then to believe you."

She wanted to get up but Stuart suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the pool. Jasmine screamed a little before she got dunked and Stuart couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Great! See! This was what I knew you'd do!" Jasmine said  
>"Now we're both even." Stuart said<br>"Petty." Jasmine muttered  
>"Oh, I'm petty? You pushed me in!" Stuart said<br>"It wasn't on purpose! I thought you were standing upright… Who knew you had bad balance…" Jasmine said, laughing slightly.

Expecting to hear Stuart laugh, Jasmine turned to look at him and he had this straight look on his face. He looked at her and waded over to her. Slightly intimidated, Jasmine waded backwards towards the steps to the pool but Stuart reached over and held onto her arm, bringing her close to him, that their bodies were touching.

"Okay, okay… Your poker face is working! We're even!" Jasmine said

Stuart broke into a smile and said, "Thought that might work."

Before Jasmine could say anything, Stuart took off her glasses and leaned into kiss her on the lips. As soon as their lips touched, the both of them felt an electrical jolt run through their body and the kiss intensified. Stuart threw Jasmine's glasses to his left before lifting her up while still kissing her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. He backed Jasmine up so that her back was against the wall as he continued to kiss her deeply. Because their clothes were wet, Jasmine could easily feel Stuart's hard on against her and Stuart could feel the heat emitting from Jasmine's core. Knowing that they were going to go to the next stage, Jasmine pulled away from Stuart's kiss.

"What's wrong?" Stuart asked  
>"I haven't done this before." Jasmine replied, softly.<br>"You mean…" Stuart said  
>"Yeah." Jasmine said<br>"I'm sorry. I should have known. I'm so stupid." Stuart said

Jasmine touched Stuart's face and pecked him on the lips, "No, you're not. I didn't say we're not going to try…"

"Are you sure? I don't want to pressurize you into doing something you don't want to do…" Stuart said

"No… I'm ready." Jasmine said, "But, just be gentle."

Stuart nodded with a warm smile and resumed kissing her before carrying her up bridal-style as he walked up the pool stairs and into the house.


	15. The Right Ones

**Author's Note: Hey guys! So, this is my first time writing a sexual scene so please bear with me if it isn't up to standard! **

The next morning, Jasmine woke up and felt Stuart's arm around her waist. She looked underneath the covers and upon seeing their naked selves; she immediately remembered what happened the night before.__

_Jasmine wanted to clean up after their little jump into the pool before they did anything else and Stuart agreed. She was in the bathroom, getting out of her wet clothes when Stuart came into the bathroom, and hugged her from behind. Startled and shy, Jasmine tried to cover up her body but Stuart didn't let her._

"_Don't. You look beautiful." Stuart said_

_Jasmine smiled shyly, "You have to say that… Cause you wanna get laid."_

_Stu turned her around so that she was looking at him, "I'm not saying that because I wanna get laid. I really mean it."_

_Jasmine blushed as Stuart leaned into kiss her on the lips before trailing kisses from her jaw down to her neck where he sucked on a spot, generating a breathy moan from her. As he did so, his hands moved down her back to slowly unbuckle her bra. He threw the bra across the bathroom before moving down to her breasts where he sucked on them before carrying her up, with her legs around his waist._

"_Are you not wearing any underwear?" Jasmine asked_  
>"<em>Why still have it on if I'm going to take it off again?" Stuart said<em>  
>"<em>Somebody's feeling confident." Jasmine said<em>

_Stuart smiled as he kissed her again before plopping her down onto the king-sized bed._

"_Just relax and let loose. And, I'll be gentle." Stuart said_

_Jasmine nodded shyly as Stuart gave her a kiss on the lips before slowly taking off her underwear. He spread her legs open with his large hands and started to rub circles on her clitoris, getting Jasmine to moan in pleasure. She closed her eyes as she let herself enjoy Stuart's finger rubbing her. Upon seeing Jasmine enjoying it, he couldn't help but feel himself getting harder. Stuart positioned himself in front of her wet core and slowly slid himself into her._

_She gasped out loud, feeling pain overcome her. Seeing a tear slide down her cheek, Stuart felt his heart ache. He knew then that he had fallen undoubtedly in love with Jasmine._

"_Relax, baby. The pain will go away soon." Stuart said, leaning down to kiss her forehead._

_Jasmine kept quiet without replying him but soon felt the pain subside a little as it replaced with pleasure. Stuart slid out of her and slid back in again, finally feeling her relax. Once she was accustomed to his size, Jasmine started to moan when Stuart quickened his thrusts._

"_Stu… Faster." Jasmine moaned_

_Stuart nodded and as per Jasmine's request, he went faster. He felt his cock tightened and knew that he was close to his release but he didn't want to cum alone._

"_Cum with me, baby." Stuart said_

_Jasmine nodded as she moaned loudly and finally gasped when Stuart hit her g-spot. She writhed in pleasure and Stuart felt her tighten around his cock as he bucked his hips insanely. Stuart leant over her and Jasmine wrapped her arms around him as they both felt their climax._

"_Ugh, fuck! Jasmine!"_  
>"<em>Stu!"<em>

_His thrusts eventually came to a stop when he felt his cum fill her up and she sighed in happiness. He kissed her forehead that was covered in sweat before pulling out of her and gathering her up in his arms._

"_I love you." Stuart said_  
>"<em>I love you too." Jasmine said<em>

_Stuart smiled to himself before kissing her head and hugging her tightly as they both drifted off to sleep._

Jasmine smiled as she remembered their word exchange before they went to sleep. She moved her legs to change her position when she suddenly felt a sore pain in her nether regions. She looked beneath the covers and caught a sight of Stuart's penis before shyly closing the covers.

"Good morning to you too." Stuart said

Jasmine looked up at Stuart and saw him smiling at her. He leaned into kiss her before wrapping both arms around her to bring her closer to him.

"Thanks to you… I'm feeling sore." Jasmine said  
>"Well… I can't help it if I'm a satisfying size." Stuart said<p>

Jasmine laughed as Stuart kissed her hand that he was holding.

"I do mean what I said last night. I love you." Stuart said  
>"And I love you too." Jasmine said<p>

He tilted her head up and Stuart leaned into kiss her. Just as they were about to commence their second round of love-making, Mason came into the room. Jasmine buried her face in Stuart's chest while he acknowledged Mason.

"Stu… Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was a guest." Mason said, with a slight smile.  
>"Uh… It's okay. What is it?" Stuart asked<br>"I just came to tell you that you have a call coming from Tokyo, Japan later at 12." Mason replied  
>"Thanks for the reminder." Stuart said<br>"No problem. By the way, the pool boy found Jasmine's glasses. I got Zeke to bring it to an optician to get it cleaned." Mason said

Jasmine groaned into Stuart's chest in embarrassment, generating laughs from Stuart and Mason.

"So, I'll leave now." Mason said

Stuart nodded and Mason winked at him before closing the door.

"He's gone now." Stuart said

Jasmine sat up with the covers and sighed, "This is embarrassing."

"Shagging me is embarrassing?" Stuart teased  
>"No! I mean… No… It's getting found out that is embarrassing." Jasmine said<br>"Well… Get used to it cause this isn't going to be a onetime thing, Missy." Stuart said

Just as Stuart was about to lean in and kiss Jasmine, his cell phone went off. He groaned in frustration and reached over to pick up his phone.

"Hello?"  
>"STUART BENNETT! I TOLD YOU TO TAKE CARE OF JASMINE BUT I DON'T SEE HER ANYWHERE! I CALLED HER PHONE AND SHE ISN'T ANSWERING! TAKING CARE OF HER IS TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE WITH HER TILL I COME BACK! NOT LEAVE HER AT HOME AND GO! NOW I CAN'T FIND HER! AND I'M ABOUT TO CALL THE COPS!"<br>"Eve? Calm down. She's with me."  
>"SHE- What? She's with you?"<br>"Yeah… She's in my house."  
>"She's in your- WAIT. SHE'S IN YOUR HOUSE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?"<br>"Uh… I think I'll let her explain."

Stuart passed the phone to Jasmine before getting out of bed to head to the bathroom. Since he didn't have any covers with him, he was fully naked as he made his way to the bathroom. He smiled smugly at Jasmine who covered her eyes shyly.

"Hello?"  
>"JASMINE! OH MY GOSH! ARE YOU OKAY? DID HE FORCE HIMSELF ONTO YOU? I'M GOING TO KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!"<br>"Eve! I'm fine! Relax! He didn't force himself onto me… It was just the right moment…"  
>"So… You're okay?"<br>"I'm fine. I'm great, actually."  
>"How was it?"<br>"Awesome. I gave it to the right guy."  
>"Well, as long as you felt it was right, I'll stand by your decision. Although I'm not sure how Randy will react to Stu deflowering his precious god-sister…"<br>"Keep it from him for the time being. Don't want him going all R-K-O on Stu."  
>"*laughs* I got it. Come home soon."<br>"I will."

Jasmine ended the call and Stuart came back to bed, still not dressed. She handed the phone back to him.

"So… How is it?" Stuart asked  
>"Well… She wanted to come kill you but I saved your ass." Jasmine replied<br>"I know… Somebody said I was awesome and that giving her virginity to me was the right decision." Stuart teased

Jasmine lightly punched Stuart's arm, "You eavesdropped?"

"No… The bathroom door was open and you weren't exactly talking softly…" Stuart said

Jasmine pushed Stuart only to be wrapped in his arms as he planted one on her lips.

"Well, you're the right woman for me." Stuart said

Jasmine smiled as he leaned into kiss her, turning the whole situation into a round two. After finally stopping at round three, they both left the house and Stuart dropped her off at the kendo studio.

"So… I'll see you tonight for dinner?" Stuart asked  
>"Define what you mean by dinner because I'm really sore right now and it's amazing that I can even go and teach a class." Jasmine replied<p>

Stuart laughed, "Okay… I promise that it'll just be normal dinner. But, I can't promise about dessert."

"Well that will depend on my mood." Jasmine said

Stuart smiled, "Not if you can resist me."

Jasmine chuckled and shook her head before leaning into kiss Stuart on the lips, "Love you."

"Love you too. I'll pick you up at your house at 7?" Stuart said

Jasmine nodded and got out of the car before standing by the curb and waving 'bye' to Stu as he drove off. She smiled happily to herself before walking into the studio where Hunter was looking at her.

"Hi boss!" Jasmine greeted

Hunter smirked, "Someone's in an unusually happy mood."

"Pfft. What? No…" Jasmine said, feeling her cheeks warm up.

Hunter merely smiled and shook his head as Jasmine rushed into her classroom. After her two classes, it was already 5pm. She packed up and walked out of to the counter where Hunter was checking the accounts.

"Hey, boss! So, I have no more classes for the day, right?" Jasmine asked  
>"Nope. That's all for today." Hunter replied<br>"So… Is it okay if I go then?" Jasmine asked

Hunter smiled, "No problem, kiddo. See you tomorrow."

Jasmine nodded and waved good-bye to Hunter as she walked out of the studio.


	16. The Showdown

She arrived at the bus stop near her house and walked up another 10 minutes to reach her house. She was at her front porch and looking for her keys in her bag when all of a sudden, a hand from behind, holding a piece of cloth covered her face and within minutes of struggling, Jasmine fainted. The two guys picked her up and put her into their car before driving off.

At 7pm, Stuart arrived at Jasmine and Eve's house to see Randy and the others on the front porch with a rather disoriented Eve on the steps. Worried something happened to Jasmine, Stuart immediately parked his car and leapt out to walk towards them.

"What's going on?" Stuart asked  
>"Jasmine's missing." Paul replied<br>"What? How did that happen?" Stuart said, voice getting louder.  
>"Something must have happened as she was coming back." Samantha said<br>"Kiddo left the studio at 5pm. I saw her board the bus at the bus stop." Hunter said  
>"And she texted me on her way back." Eve said<br>"How do you know she's missing then? She could have dropped off somewhere else." Stuart said

Andrew pat Stuart's shoulder, "Eve found her keys on the floor and a message for you."

Andrew passed Stuart a box and he opened it up to see Jasmine's glasses smashed as if someone had stepped on it purposely and a test tube of her blood. Immediately, Stuart knew who took her.

"I know who did this." Stuart said, gritting his teeth.

Paul stopped Stuart from walking with his hand on his shoulder, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"No. I'll settle it myself." Stuart said

He shrugged Paul's hand off and walked towards his car. As soon as he got in, he revved his engine and drove off.

Meanwhile, Jasmine regained her consciousness and tried to look at her surroundings only to realize that she was blindfolded. She tried to move her arms but they were tied behind her and her right arm was aching.

"H-Hello? Where am I?" Jasmine said out loud

"You're in safe hands. Unless Stu doesn't come."

Jasmine recognized the voice and said, "Nicholas?"

"Very smart. Epico, remove the blindfold." Nicholas said

Within minutes, she felt someone take off the blindfold and she slowly opened her eyes to adjust to the lighting in the hangar. Sure enough, she saw Nicholas sitting opposite her. Even without her glasses, she could recognize the blond hair.

"You know… Brie was smart to tell me about you. It's really the only way to get back what Stu took from me." Nicholas said  
>"What are you talking about? What did Stu take from you?" Jasmine asked<br>"A business deal. With the Japanese Yakuza. You see… They started up a new business in selling firearm to the rebel forces in Africa. I could have gotten that deal if it wasn't for Stu coming in and meddling with my business." Nicholas replied

Nicholas stood up and walked to Jasmine, "He stole my deal. The deal that already had my name on it. I asked him to give it back to me but he refused saying that the yakuza boss chose him instead. Like, what's that suppose to mean? Just because his daddy used to be the most powerful man doesn't mean he has what his father had."

"So you're using me to get your stupid business back?" Jasmine asked  
>"Yes. Knowing how deep in love Stu is with you is the smart way of getting what's mine. Don't you feel the ache in your arm? As soon as Stu sees the tube of blood in the little present I left him, he would go insane and do whatever it takes to get you back to him. Including giving up the business." Nicholas replied<p>

Just as he said that, Epico came up to Nicholas.

"Sir, he's here." Epico said

Nicholas clapped his hands together, "Wonderful. I wonder how you made him fall in love with you. Women to him used to be just toys. You… You must be special."

They heard the door to the huge hangar open and Stuart came in, with Nicholas' henchman behind him, holding guns.

"Stu." Jasmine whispered to herself, seeing the silhouette that is the love of her life.

He saw Jasmine and his heart ached when his eyes landed on her right arm which had a bandage around it.

"Welcome, Stu. I knew you'd come. Brie was pretty clear about seeing how much you love her. I must say I wouldn't have expected you to love someone so deeply especially when you're a cold-blooded murderer." Nicholas said  
>"Let her go, Nicholas. It's me that you want." Stuart said<p>

Nicholas shook his head, "Oh, no, Stu… It's not you that I want. It's the yakuza deal. I want that deal. It should be mine!"

"Fine. Then take it." Stuart said

Nicholas laughed, "Take it? I can't do that. You might just turn around and bite me in the ass."

"Then what do you want?" Stuart asked  
>"I'm feeling a little bit greedy. I want the yakuza deal and the drug deal that you have with the people in Thailand." Nicholas replied<br>"Why don't you take my whole business then?" Stuart said  
>"Is that an offer?" Nicholas asked<p>

Stuart looked at Jasmine and looked back at Nicholas, "I only want Jasmine back so if that's what will make you happy, you can have it."

Nicholas clapped, "How romantic. I really didn't know you had it in you."

"Let her go then." Stuart said

Nicholas stepped aside, "Sure. You can take her."

Stuart walked pass Nicholas and up to where Jasmine was to untie her.

"Are you okay?" Stuart asked, softly.

Jasmine nodded and was relieved to be getting out of there with Stuart, until she saw Nicholas take out a gun to stand behind Stuart, with the gun pointed at his head.

"I forgot to mention… If you can take her out of here alive." Nicholas said  
>"What else do you want?" Stuart asked, getting angry.<br>"Nothing. Just to kill you. Because, I can't risk having you make a comeback right?" Nicholas said

Stuart looked at Jasmine and seemed to convey a message to her, which she understood. All of a sudden, Stuart turned around and punched Nicholas in the face, knocking him off balance, losing the gun as he fell back. His henchmen immediately went into defense mode. Although she couldn't see as clearly, she spotted a pole not far from her and went to get it. As soon as she got the pole, she went into kendo battle mode. Stuart was busy punching off Nicholas' henchmen as did she. She was taking a breather when she saw Nicholas stand up, with the gun in his hand.

"STU!" Jasmine exclaimed, "BEHIND YOU!"

He turned around just in time to move step away from Nicholas' line of fire as he fired the gun. Jasmine got knocked out before she could see what happened.


	17. All's Well That Ends Well?

When she regained consciousness, Jasmine wasn't in the hangar anymore. She tried to move but her head hurt and her right arm hurt.

"Don't move… You suffered quite a blow to the head."

She looked to her left and saw Randy and Eve by her side.

"W-Where am I?" Jasmine asked  
>"You're safe. You're in the hospital." Randy replied<p>

Just then, she remembered the last thing she saw and heard. Stuart and Nicholas' shot.

"Where's Stu?" Jasmine said, "I need to see him."

Eve stopped her from getting up and said, "You need to rest first."

"No. I need to see Stu. Where is he?" Jasmine said, trying to get up again.

"I'm here."

Randy pat Stuart's shoulder as he entered the ward and kissed Jasmine's forehead. Eve and Randy both left, wanting to give them some privacy. Jasmine looked at Stuart and noticed his left arm was bandaged up.

"Thanks to you, the bullet grazed my left arm. And, Paul arrived in time with the others. They took Nicholas down." Stuart said

Jasmine sighed and nodded in relief.

Stuart tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry for getting you involved. I should have known Nicholas would react this way. It's all my fault."

Jasmine shook her head, "No… It's not your fault. You even wanted to give up your business for me."

Stuart smiled shyly, "That's because my life is you."

Jasmine smiled and Stuart leaned into kiss her lips. He took out a ring from his pocket and put it onto her finger.

"What's this?" Jasmine asked  
>"A ring that symbolizes you're mine." Stuart replied<br>"I didn't say I was going to marry you." Jasmine said  
>"Are you sure? I thought you smiling when I said you are my life meant you agreed to marry me." Stuart said<br>"Well… I didn't know that it was an engagement! I'm injured and am semi-confused!" Jasmine said

Stuart shrugged, "Fine. Then I'll take it off."

"No! I mean, no… You just owe me a proper proposal then." Jasmine said

Stuart smirked, "I thought so."

Jasmine punched Stuart's right arm and he pretended to flinch which cause Jasmine to feel bad.

"Sorry!" Jasmine said

Stuart laughed, "Gotcha."

Jasmine was about to punch Stuart again when he held onto her hand and placed it on his heart before leaning into kiss her on the lips.

"I love you, Jasmine Bennett." Stuart said  
>"I love you too, Stuart Bennett." Jasmine said<p>

Stuart smiled and kissed her one more time before getting on the bed to hold her in his arms, while she got her much needed rest. He smiled as soon as he saw her sound asleep and kissed her head before drifting off to sleep knowing that he had finally found the woman he would give his heart to forever.

* * *

><p>"Well?" Andrew asked, surveying the hangar, "I thought you took him down, Paul."<p>

Paul looked around, puzzled as his men walked around the hangar.

"I did! Andrew, I swear to you. I took him down. I shot him in the arm and I saw him fall." Paul said  
>"Then where is he?" Andrew asked<br>"I-I don't know... I sent one of my men to get him but he said he was gone." Paul replied  
>"Gone?" Andrew said<p>

Paul turned to look at Andrew, "It was chaotic. My men were fighting against Nicholas' men and I was worried about Jasmine and Stu."

Andrew turned to look at their men who were signalling to each other that they find nothing.

"I think someone came in to help him." Andrew said  
>"This is all my fault. I should have shot him dead." Paul said<p>

Andrew looked at Paul, "Don't blame yourself, big man. You wouldn't have been able to do that either. We've all been friends for so long. It's impossible to just shoot him dead if you want to."

"So what do we do now?" Paul asked  
>"Let's just keep it to ourselves for now. Nicholas' business is crippled now. We just have to make sure it stays that way and he doesn't make a comeback." Andrew replied<p>

Paul and Andrew looked at each other for a while as they mentally made an agreement between the both of them.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay?"<p>

Nicholas blinked and looked around. He wasn't dead but this wasn't his house. He looked at the person who brought him in and she was someone that looked familiar.

"W-Where am I?" Nicholas asked  
>"You're in my house in Oahu, Hawaii." She replied<p>

Nicholas tried to get up but his shoulder burned up and he fell back into the pillow.

"You're injured. You shouldn't get up." She said  
>"Who are you?" Nicholas asked<p>

She smiled, "My name's Brandi Reed. My friend, Rosa, brought you in here after the fight that happened in the hangar."

"Rosa? As in Epico's girlfriend?" Nicholas asked  
>"Yes. She wasn't able to take care of you because she's in San Juan, Puerto Rico." Brandi replied<br>"Do you know who shot me?" Nicholas asked

Brandi nodded, "Rosa told me that you got shot by a man named Paul."

Nicholas gritted his teeth as soon as he heard the name of the man who shot him.

"So... This is how we're doing this." Nicholas said

Brandi looked curiously at Nicholas, "Do what?"

Nicholas turned to her and smiled, "Nothing... Is there any way I can contact Rosa?"

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! We've come to the end of this whole story! But, don't worry! There will be a sequel! Thank you so much to all of you who have read and reviewed! I really appreciate it! The sequel will come soon! I PROMISE! :)<strong>


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